My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: July 2017

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Side Effects of Azilect ( Rasagiline)-A Parkinson Disease Medication-Update

One of the medications, Macrine is taking for her PD. She takes this with Carbo-levodopa to control the tremors and muscle movements and other symptoms of Parkinson.

Rasagiline is used alone or with other medications (such as levodopa/carbidopa) to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It can help improve symptoms such as shakiness, stiffness, and difficulty moving. It can also help reduce the amount of "off" time (periods of slow movement or stiffness).

Rasagiline belongs to a class of drugs known as MAO inhibitors. It works by increasing the levels of certain natural substances in the brain (such as dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin). Parkinson's disease is thought to be caused by too little dopamine in the brain.

However, sometimes the side effects is worst than the benefits, so be aware of the side effects and monitor closely the side effects as follows: The following is information from the Patient Insert provided by the manufacturer of Azilect.

SIDE EFFECTS:

Dizziness, drowsiness, joint pain, heartburn, nausea, fever, muscle pain, dry mouth, and stomach/abdominal pain may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
To minimize dizziness and the risk of fainting, get up slowly when rising from a sitting or lying position. This is especially important if you are also taking levodopa and when you first start taking rasagiline.
Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

If you are also taking levodopa, you may experience more side effects from the levodopa when taking rasagiline. Tell your doctor immediately if any of these side effects occur: nausea, shakiness, muscle stiffness, mental/mood changes such as hallucinations /abnormal dreams. Your doctor may need to change your medication or dose. Do not stop or change the dose of your levodopa without talking with your doctor first.

Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: fainting, loss of balance, mental/mood changes (e.g., agitation, confusion, depression, hallucinations), worsening muscle stiffness/twitching, changes in sexual ability/interest, increased shaking (tremor), swollen ankles/legs, change in amount of urine, unusual weight gain/loss, easy bleeding/bruising, black/tarry stools, unusual strong urges (such as increased gambling, increased sexual urges), vomit that looks like coffee grounds.

Some people taking rasagiline have fallen asleep suddenly during their usual daily activities (such as talking on the phone, driving). In some cases, sleep occurred without any feelings of drowsiness beforehand. This sleep effect may occur anytime during treatment with rasagiline, including up to 1 year after starting the medication. If you experience increased sleepiness or fall asleep during the day, do not drive or take part in other possibly dangerous activities until you have discussed this effect with your doctor. Your risk of this sleep effect is increased by using alcohol or other medications that can make you drowsy. See also

Precautions section.

This medication may increase serotonin and rarely cause a very serious condition called serotonin syndrome. The risk increases if you are also taking other drugs that increase serotonin, so tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the drugs you take. Get medical help right away if you develop some of the following symptoms: hallucinations, unusual restlessness, loss of coordination, fast heartbeat, severe dizziness, unexplained fever, severe nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, twitching muscles.

This drug may rarely cause an attack of extremely high blood pressure (hypertensive crisis), which may be fatal. Drug and food interactions can increase this risk. (See also Drug Interactions section.) Get medical help right away if any of these serious side effects occur: frequent/severe headache, fast/slow/irregular/pounding heartbeat, chest pain, neck stiffness/soreness, severe nausea/vomiting, sweating/clammy skin (sometimes with fever), widened pupils, vision changes (e.g., double/blurred vision), sudden sensitivity to light (photophobia).

A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, get medical help right away if you notice any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including: rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), dizziness, trouble breathing.

This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

In the US -Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

In Canada - Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345.

Note: Macrine's oftentimes experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, stiffness and soreness of the neck, dry mouth, mild confusion/hallucinations and constipation. Most of the time it is mild. Thanks God!

Monday, July 17, 2017

Side Effects of Carbo-Levo Dopa (Sinemet)-A Parkinson Disease Medication-An Update

One of the medications, Macrine is taking for her Parkinson's Disease(PD). If you have a love one suffering from PD I am sure you have heard of this medication. Here's an update of the side effects of this essential drug.

Sinemet (carbidopa-levodopa) is a combination of an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylation and an aromatic amino acid used to treat Parkinson symptoms such as muscle stiffness, tremors, spasms, and poor muscle control.

Sinemet is also used to treat Parkinson symptoms caused by carbon monoxide poisoning or manganese intoxication. Sinemet is available in generic form. Common side effects of Sinemet include:

dizziness,
drowsiness,
blurred vision,
nausea,
vomiting,
dry mouth,
loss of appetite,
heartburn,
diarrhea,
constipation,
sneezing,
stuffy nose,
cough,
other cold symptoms,
muscle pain,
numbness or tingly feeling,
trouble sleeping (insomnia or strange dreams),
skin rash,
itching,
and headache.

Tell your doctor if you experience unlikely but serious side effects including:
greatly increased eye blinking/twitching, fainting,mental/mood changes (e.g., confusion, depression, hallucinations, thoughts of suicide), unusual strong urges (such as increased gambling, increased sexual urges),or worsening of involuntary movements/spasms.

Starting dosage is one tablet of Sinemet 25-100 (carbidopa-levodopa) three times a day. Dosage may be increased by one tablet every day or every other day, as necessary, until a dosage of eight tablets a day is reached. Sinemet may interact with other Parkinson's medications, metoclopramide, isoniazid, phenytoin, papaverine, blood pressure medication, antidepressants, or medicines to treat psychiatric disorders. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Note: The side effects that are blocked are some of the side effects Macrine is feeling at times. She is also feeling confused and sometimes depressed and feel isolated and not loved. She needs attention and wants relatives to call her!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Acts of Kindness from Strangers Reposted

National Kindness Day was last February 17, but I forgot to repost this blog that day. Anyway, every day should be kindness day to all Senior Citizens. Enjoy this long hot, hot summer in the next two months or so!

I posted this article about 3 years ago. It is timeless and I wish there will be more acts of kindness extended to senior citizens in this hectic and chaotic world.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2013/06/three-acts-of-kindness-from-strangers.html

For things you can do for seniors as an act of kindness any day of the year, read the following:

http://www.spinlife.com/blog/random-acts-of-kindness-for-seniors-thoughtful-ideas-and-inspiration/

Monday, July 3, 2017

Have You Heard of Cherrie Atilano and AGREA?

Cherrie Atilano, the president and founding farmer of AGREA was awarded as one of The Outstanding Women in the Nations Service (TOWNS) on November 10, 2016 at Dusit Thani Manila, Makati City. The next day, November 11, Cherrie was named ‘Earth Mover 2016’ during Rappler’s Annual Move Awards at the Ayala Museum. Cherrie is a founding farmer in AGREA Philippines, an agri-social enterprise on Marinduque island. AGREA aims to develop a replicable “one island” economy model founded on sustainable agriculture and quality education for the children of local farmers and fishermen.

In 2016 Cherrie received one of The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service awards, in recognition of her work in the Filipino agriculture sector over the last 18 years. Cherrie De Erit Atilano is a magna cum laude of the Visayas State University – Agriculture Program. She graduated in 2007 and was one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines a few years ago.

Cherrie was granted a two-year Fulbright scholarship and the opportunity to pursue her studies in America. But after seeing the plight of our farmers when she volunteered at the GK Enchanted Garden in Angat, Bulacan, she gave up the well-sought after scholarship for a chance to help her countrymen. “I can’t leave my farmers”, Cherrie said during the panel interview. The board’s panel was moved by her genuine words. The panel told Cherrie that she can have her scholarship anytime.

Cherrie has been working to help Filipino farmers through agricultural development initiatives in the past 18 years. Her main goal is to help the country achieve food security and food sovereignty while uplifting fishermen and farmers from poverty.
“I am a culprit of making farming glamorous,” she said. “When people are seeing dirt in soil, I see gold.”

One of Atilano’s recent works is the Agrea Agricultural System International Incorporated. It is an agri-social enterprise in Marinduque province that builds sustainable farming communities through organic agriculture and fair trade practices. She is also responsible for promoting agricultural development and education among the youth, including the children of farmers. For details and current AGREA projects in Marinduque visit Yong Nieva Face Book page.

On her Facebook account, Cherrie posted “Thank you very much Rappler for the Earth Mover Award and for the triennial search for The Outstanding Women in the Nation Service Award 2016 (TOWNS) for recognizing Agrea’s work. This may be a step ahead for Agrea, it is also a great big leap for our farmers and fishermen. Marinduque is very proud! But we do not stop here. There are still so many things to be done, still so many seeds to sow and take care of, and still a big island to think about. Above all else, still too many people to cultivate and empower that farming is cool, smart, sexy and humane. And echoing the lines of one of our youngest volunteers, “How are you doing guys? Keep working!”

Source: http://marinduquenews.com/2016/11/agreas-founder-cherrie-atilano-receives-top-awards/

Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like: